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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24647656">The Current Between Us</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tawryn/pseuds/Tawryn'>Tawryn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aftercare as Aftercare, Alternate Universe - BDSM, Cunnilingus, Deaf Clint Barton, Dom Natasha Romanov, Electrical Play, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, Everyone Lives in the Tower and Nothing Bad Has Happened Ever, F/F, First Time, Good BDSM practices, Impact Play, Kink Negotiation, Multiple Orgasms, Orgasms as Aftercare, Safe Sane and Consensual, Violet Wand, switch Pepper Potts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:01:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,829</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24647656</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tawryn/pseuds/Tawryn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Pepper Potts is not a registered switch.</p><p>She wouldn’t be the first to misrepresent herself for the sake of her career though, and as Natasha watches her look after Stark Industries, Avengers’ PR, and Tony, all with tireless efficiency, she wonders—who looks after Pepper?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanov, background Tony Stark/Pepper Potts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>122</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>The First Annual Femslash Kink Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Current Between Us</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/HogwartsToAlexandria/gifts">HogwartsToAlexandria</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A treat for <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/HogwartsToAlexandria">HogwartsToAlexandria</a>! I hope you enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Pepper is not a registered switch, but she wouldn’t be the first to misrepresent herself for the sake of her career. There are still plenty of traditionalists out there who sneer at submissives in positions of power, who question the legitimacy of switch as an official orientation—many of them deeming switches as subs who are simply <em>confused</em>—Natasha grimaces in disgust and swallows her bitterness down. She refuses to give those assholes more brain estate than strictly necessary.</p><p>Regardless, Natasha is long used to seeing the secrets in people. Clint calls them her spy sequences, these things that she can’t unlearn even years later. And maybe there are some parts of her training that she wishes she could break, some sore spots she would be glad to stop poking with her tongue, but snooping and prying aren’t on the list.</p><p>She studies Pepper over the course of two weeks.</p><p>Pepper stops by the kitchen on the team’s common floor to grab her coffee between 7:20 and 7:35 on most weekdays. Back when Natasha was Natalie, Pepper took her coffee with almond milk, but now she sees that Pepper prefers to take it black. On the surface, Pepper seems fine. There’s never a hair out of place nor a wrinkle in Pepper’s suit, but that’s not a tell. Natasha knows all about using appearances as armor.</p><p>There’s just something in Natasha’s gut telling her that Pepper is not as okay as she seems. Maybe it’s the tension near Pepper’s eyes. Maybe it’s an impression in the twist of her mouth. Whatever it is, it plucks at Natasha’s instincts and feeds a growing suspicion that A, Pepper Potts is not the registered dominant she appears to be; and B, she’s flirting with a drop.</p><p>“Good morning, Natasha.”</p><p>Pepper steps off the elevator at 7:28. Natasha already has the coffee pot ready.</p><p>“Morning,” Natasha replies. “Brazil Daterra Sunrise today.”</p><p>“Bless you. I’d offer you a job, but I think you’re already employed.”</p><p>Pepper gives her a little knowing smile as she pours her coffee and Natasha returns it easily.</p><p>“Busy day ahead?” Natasha asks.</p><p>She already knows the answer. Pepper manages a lot of things: Tony, Stark Industries, Avengers PR... it’s got to be exhausting. Natasha muses, and not for the first time, about who takes care of Pepper.</p><p>Pepper sighs. “Always.”</p><p>Natasha looks at Pepper and considers. There are a few ways she could bring it up, but she decides that in this situation, knowing Pepper, direct will get the best results.</p><p>“So, feel free to tell me to fuck off if I’m being too personal, but there’s really no other way I can think to say it,” Natasha says. “Are you doing okay? You seem like you need to go down.”</p><p>Pepper’s face changes a little, going soft and indulgent, and she puts her coffee down and leans against the counter.</p><p>“I have been feeling off lately,” Pepper admits. “I hadn’t thought—but you’re right. I probably do. It’s been a while.”</p><p>Natasha does love the satisfaction of good surveillance paying off.</p><p>“How long is a while?” she asks.</p><p>Pepper is cute when she thinks. Natasha studies the freckles on her nose.</p><p>“Close to a year?”</p><p>Natasha bites back her surprise. She’s known switches who could go months without dropping, but a year? It’s the longest stretch of time Natasha’s ever heard.</p><p>“I know, I know,” Pepper continues, holding up her hands. “But Tony does some service topping for me and it’s usually enough to scratch the itch.”</p><p>This conversation—Natasha hadn’t started it with an endgame in mind. She doesn’t <em>think</em> she started it with an endgame in mind, but hell. As she watches Pepper’s tongue dart out to lick her lips, she realizes that maybe she’s lying to herself.</p><p>“Well, I’d be happy to help with scratching your itches. If you want.”</p><p>Pepper blinks, thrown for a moment, and then lights up.</p><p>“You would?”</p><p>“Sure, so long as Tony is okay with it,” Natasha says. She can’t help dropping her voice a bit into dom register as she leans in closer. “It would be my pleasure.”</p><p>Natasha is rewarded with a full body shiver. She zeroes in on the goosebumps blooming across Pepper’s forearms and tries not to think too much about where they end.</p><p>“I’ll talk to him tonight, but I’m sure he’ll be <em>more</em> than okay with it.”</p><p>Pepper takes out her phone and Natasha, sensing what’s coming, does the same. Both devices ping when their negotiation checklists transfer.</p><p>“Can you meet me for brunch tomorrow?”</p><p>“You’re free?” Natasha raises her eyebrows in surprise.</p><p>Pepper’s phone chimes as she swipes a finger across it.</p><p>“I am now.”</p><p>Something hot tightens in Natasha’s chest.</p><p>“Text me the details,” she says. “Do you want it to be just me and you? You can bring Tony with you if you want.”</p><p>She knows Pepper, of course, has known her and Tony for years now, longer than any other Avenger save Rhodes, but first-time negotiations can be intimidating. Natasha has always invited her subs to bring a friend along. There are a few reasons why it’s a good idea. The best one, in Natasha’s mind, is the comfort of her sub. Pepper’s generous smile tells her that she understands why it’s being offered.</p><p>“I appreciate that. I’ll decide later when I speak with Tony.”</p><p>When Pepper picks up her travel mug to go, Natasha finally gives in to the itchy desire to plan. She drinks her coffee in silence, alone with her racing thoughts until Steve startles her out of them.</p><p>It’s uncharacteristic—no one sneaks up on Natasha, not ever—and so, she can’t really blame Steve for being so alarmed that he shatters the coffee pot.</p><p>Clint, when he wakes, does not feel the same.</p><p>He’s very colorful with his condemnation.</p><p>-</p><p>“How do you feel about violet wands?”</p><p>The waiter sets their plates down with a conspiratorial glint in his eye, but is otherwise a devout professional. Pepper concentrates intently on stirring her smoothie bowl, but the tips of her ears are pink and Natasha basks a little in her embarrassment. She waits until the waiter leaves to answer Natasha’s question.</p><p>“Honestly? I’ve never tried them before. I wouldn’t be able to use it with Tony, and well,” Pepper pauses and shakes her head, a rueful slant to her mouth, “I don’t really buy toys just for me. To be used on me, I mean.”</p><p>Does Natasha furtively hope she can be the one to change that? Maybe a little.</p><p>“Well, I have one. They’re low voltage and high frequency, so it’s the safest way to do electrical play. Your checklist seemed to lean toward stingy and sharp, so I think you’d really like it, but don’t feel obligated. I have plenty of other ideas.”</p><p>Pepper seems intrigued.</p><p>“I’m game. What else do you have in mind?”</p><p>“I’d like to beat you up a little,” Natasha confesses, slicing into her omelet. She’d like to do it a lot. “What tools do you like best?”</p><p>Pepper tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m a big fan of stingy, like you noticed, so crops and paddles are probably my top two. Not that I hate thuddy toys—they can be a nice change-up—but there’s just something about the sting.”</p><p>“Whips?”</p><p>Pepper’s eyes darken and she hums an agreement. Natasha has to lean back in her seat, mind churning with possibilities. She’s half-tempted to break out her single tail and drill tonight—she’s way out of practice—but she should stick to something easier for their first scene.</p><p>“What would you like me to call you?” Pepper asks.</p><p>Natasha takes another bite from her plate and reaches for her mug.</p><p>“Mistress Natasha, Breaker of Tools Upon Asses, Queen of Pain,” she says loftily, blowing into her coffee.</p><p>“Protector of the Seven Submissive Styles?”</p><p>Natasha flicks her eyes up over her coffee cup and catches Pepper’s grin. She smiles back and takes a drink.</p><p>“Just Natasha is fine. Or I like mistress and ma’am too if you have a preference.”</p><p>“I’m partial to ma’am,” Pepper says. “It helps me get into the headspace.”</p><p>Pepper loads up her spoon. Natasha waits until her mouth is full to ask the next question.</p><p>“What else helps you go down?”</p><p>She chews slowly, thinking about it.</p><p>“Pain, definitely. Sensory deprivation too, especially blindfolds,” Pepper says. “And I don’t like to talk much when I’m under. Yes or no questions are okay, but anything where I have to think or answer in more than a few words will bring me out of subspace.”</p><p>All very common. Pepper licks a bit of fruit residue from her mouth.</p><p>“And what do you like for aftercare?”</p><p>She meets Natasha’s eyes, swiping a thumb over the corner of her lips with a playful smirk.</p><p>“Orgasms.”</p><p>Natasha laughs. “Well, I guess that answers the sexual or non-sexual question.”</p><p>She reaches for a glass of water and purposefully brushes over Pepper’s wrist, watching Pepper lean in unconsciously as her eyes follow the motion.</p><p>“We can come back to that in a second, but tell me about some of the non-sexual aftercare things you like first,” Natasha says.</p><p>Pepper’s eyes are soft, and her hand strokes her throat as she speaks. Natasha is going to love her submission; she can already tell.</p><p>“I like having sweets. Chocolate, fruit, things like that. Soft blankets and cuddling. Hair petting, praise... oh, and trashy reality TV, too. That usually helps bring me up.”</p><p>The last part is hilarious to Natasha who can’t even imagine Pepper watching anything close to trashy. She’s eager to find out exactly what Pepper considers that to be.</p><p>“What about you?” Pepper asks. “What do you need for aftercare?”</p><p>A flood of warmth radiates throughout Natasha’s body. She can’t contain her grin and doesn’t even try.</p><p>“Thanks for asking. I like physical contact too, so the hair petting and cuddling will be great. It helps to hear what you enjoyed about the scene. And I’ll want to check in with you the next day.”</p><p>Pepper gives her a smile that’s full of shared knowledge. “Of course.”</p><p>“So, what kind of praise words do you like? Good girl?”</p><p>Pepper’s lips part briefly as she nods.</p><p>“You like that one?” Natasha throws her a wink. “How about pet names then? Sweetheart? Babe?”</p><p>A slight flush is spreading across Pepper’s face and neck. Natasha is seized with the sudden desire to see her pink all over.</p><p>“I like pet names,” Pepper says in a carefully measured tone.</p><p>Natasha can’t help herself. She lowers her voice and skims her fingertips up Pepper’s arm.</p><p>“I can tell.”</p><p>Pepper quickly takes another bite.</p><p>“Okay, let’s go back to sexual contact.” Natasha pulls back to give Pepper the space to collect herself. “Boundaries?”</p><p>“Anything outlined on my checklist is okay,” Pepper answers. “I like it best at the end of the scene.”</p><p>“Perfect. Anything else we haven’t covered?”</p><p>Pepper takes a moment to smooth away the nonexistent wrinkles on the arms of her blouse. When she looks back at Natasha, her eyes are gleaming with anticipation.</p><p>“Nothing I can think of.” She reaches out and squeezes Natasha’s arm. “I’m excited.”</p><p>It’s catching; the same giddy enthusiasm is also vibrating inside Natasha. She grins back.</p><p>“Me too.”</p><p>“Does tomorrow night work for you? Around eight?”</p><p>Natasha takes another sip of her coffee and begins to strategize.</p><p>“It’s a date.”</p><p>-</p><p>Natasha is working with Clint at the range the next day, calling trick shots for him to make and watching the holograms fracture as he hits each one. The door opens. Natasha’s not at all shocked to see Tony stride in.</p><p>“Seven-ten split, over the shoulder,” she tells Clint.</p><p>He fires two arrows without looking, simultaneously, and hits both targets with ease. Tony watches the blue light scatter and rolls his eyes.</p><p>“Show-off.”</p><p>Clint smirks. “Kettle.”</p><p>Natasha glances at Tony and then raises her eyebrows at Clint, making a fist and tapping the back of her raised thumb to her lips—<em>privacy?</em></p><p>Clint winks and slips his hearing aid into his pocket before heading down a few lanes. Natasha turns back to Tony and nods to the row of chairs against the wall. She waits for him to have a seat, and then pulls out a chair out to straddle.</p><p>“So, Pep and I talked.”</p><p>Natasha nods. She rests her arms over the top of the chair.</p><p>“I wouldn’t be okay with doing this if you hadn’t,” she says. “How do you feel about it? I heard it from Pepper, but I’d like to hear it from you too.”</p><p>Tony’s eyes widen a little—probably surprised that she’s asked him to confirm his opinion, most dominants wouldn't bother—but Natasha isn’t most.</p><p>“Well,” he says, dragging the word out. Natasha sucks in a quick breath. Then he grins. “Honestly, I think it’s a great idea.”</p><p>She lets the breath go. She tries to let the little fragment of irritation go too, but it’s Tony, so it’s hard.</p><p>“I do my best, but it’s obviously not the same,” Tony continues. “She needs a dom to take her down and it’s not like she can use Scene Service.”</p><p>None of them can, no matter that SI patented the app themselves. Even with Pepper only peripherally involved with Avengers business, pick-up play is a security risk that they just can’t afford.</p><p>“Well, luckily there’s one right here.” Natasha flicks her gaze over him suggestively, angling for a rise.</p><p>“A web of possibilities,” he deflects, leering right back.</p><p>One of Tony's hands comes up to touch Pepper’s collar, fiddling with the hardware, before he takes a deep breath and scowls at her. She thinks he’s going for menacing.</p><p>“If you harm one perfect hair on her perfect head, Natasha,” he says.</p><p>It’s kind of adorable, but she knows better than to admit it out loud. She suppresses a smile and instead folds her hands under her chin.</p><p>“Tony, do you trust Pepper?”</p><p>He has the grace to look offended. “With my life.”</p><p>“Do you trust me?”</p><p>“Yes,” he says, a bit begrudgingly, likely knowing where she’s leading him.</p><p>“Then you have nothing to worry about,” Natasha says. She recites a line from the Dominants’ Creed. “<em>I promise I will hurt, but not harm.</em>”</p><p>Tony pouts. “Okay,” he says, but doesn’t look completely convinced.</p><p>Clearly, he’s still uncomfortable with the idea and it prickles at Natasha like a burr stuck to the skin. She rubs her fingers across her jaw and thinks for a moment until slowly, a solution begins to form. A perfect solution, because when she proposes it to Tony, he leaps on it with such sweet enthusiasm that Natasha knows it’s the right choice. She walks him out of the range and to the elevator, listening to him rattle notes to JARVIS, and feels an absurd fondness.</p><p>Tony turns around when he steps inside.</p><p>“But are you guys <em>sure</em> I can’t watch?”</p><p>And there it goes.</p><p>“Fine, fine, no need to look so homicidal,” Tony grumbles. “But just for the record—”</p><p>Natasha watches the elevator doors close on him with no small satisfaction.</p><p>-</p><p>Pepper is prompt, arriving on Natasha’s floor at precisely eight o’clock. She leads Pepper into the bedroom. Her lips quirk in amusement when she sees Pepper’s eyes immediately land on the collection of tools Natasha has laid out on the bedspread.</p><p>“Strip down to your underwear and I’ll let you take a peek,” Natasha says. A heat pools low in her stomach as Pepper removes each article of clothing with care, folding them neatly.</p><p>Pepper reaches for one of the toys and stills, her hand frozen as she meets Natasha’s eyes.</p><p>“Can I touch?”</p><p>“Go ahead. Anything catching your eye? Or look too scary?”</p><p>“Nothing scary,” Pepper says. She brushes her fingers over the falls of one of the floggers. “What’s this made from? Rope?”</p><p>“That’s right.”</p><p>“It’s so soft,” she murmurs. “You use it for warmups?”</p><p>Natasha nods. “Mostly. Or I could get it wet and really go to town if you ask nicely.”</p><p>Pepper huffs out a laugh. “Maybe next time.”</p><p>She lets Pepper linger over the toys for a moment more, and then gently steers her away from the bed and toward the middle of the room.</p><p>“Ready to get started?”</p><p>Pepper takes a quick breath and nods.</p><p>“Hands.”</p><p>Pepper immediately complies and Natasha puts the contact probe in her right hand. She puts a little pressure on Pepper’s fingers until she closes them, making a fist, and then guides her hands back down to her sides. Every sub submits differently, but Pepper is already like water, easy and eager to go wherever Natasha wants. It's wonderful.</p><p>“What are our safewords?”</p><p>“Yellow if I need to check in,” Pepper says. “And red if we need to call it.”</p><p>“Good girl.” Natasha smirks when Pepper looks down, cheeks already pink. She taps Pepper’s fist. “This is a body probe. As long as you’re holding it, you’ll be conductive, but as soon as you let go the electricity stops. If any point you feel like it’s getting to be too much, you can drop it and I’ll take that as a yellow, okay?”</p><p>“Yes, ma’am.”</p><p>“JARVIS,” Natasha says. “Start my playlist please.”</p><p>The AI complies and Natasha turns the unit on with the foot pedal, listening as both the familiar music and drone of the machine quickly fill the room. She leans down near Pepper’s ear, slipping down into her dom register with practiced ease.</p><p>“Look at you,” she says softly, tuned in to the way Pepper quivers. “You’re being so good for me already.”</p><p>She runs the tips of her fingers over Pepper’s stomach and hears the static hiss, feels the tingle of the electricity on her end as the current flows through them. On the lightest setting, with direct contact, it’s a pleasant buzz. Pepper squirms under her touch.</p><p>“Hurts?” Natasha asks, although she knows it doesn’t. Not yet.</p><p>“No,” Pepper says with a little laugh. “Actually, it tickles.”</p><p>“Well, let’s give you a stronger tickle then.”</p><p>Natasha turns the dial up a bit and braces herself. She's not a masochist, but she remembers her training. Pain is a means to an end. Natasha moves her fingers back to Pepper’s stomach, leaving room for the current to jump. A neon purple light arcs through the space between them, this time a harsher sting, and Pepper lets out a satisfying gasp.</p><p>“How did that feel?” she asks.</p><p>Pepper gives her a slow, molasses smile. “Good. I like it.”</p><p>“I thought you would,” Natasha says, inwardly preening. “Ready for the blindfold?”</p><p>“Yes, ma’am.”</p><p>Natasha turns off the wand for a moment while she slips and adjusts the blindfold over Pepper’s eyes. She steps back to admire the length of bare skin in front of her, begging to be marked, her body tingling with a heady readiness. Pepper’s chest rises and falls a little quicker while she waits in anticipation of the unknown. Natasha blooms under the thrill of control.</p><p>She moves closer and rakes her fingernails down Pepper’s sides, exhilarating in the way she jumps and gasps. Natasha grabs a fistful of hair and wrenches Pepper’s head back, drawing out a sweeter sound.</p><p>“I’m going to hurt you now,” Natasha says. “And I’m going to like it.”</p><p>A shuddery breath leaves Pepper’s lips. Natasha wants more of them.</p><p>“You remember how to tell me to stop?”</p><p>Pepper nods. “Yes, ma’am,” she says, a bit throatily.</p><p>Natasha turns on the wand again and picks up a metal spoon from the collection of toys laid out to the side. She keeps the dial low, running the flat side of the spoon over Pepper’s skin. As Natasha drags it up and over her stomach and breasts, letting Pepper get used to the sensation, she zones into her reactions. So many idiot dominants forget this, that starting slow is for both of them. After the first song ends, she turns the dial a few cranks and runs it down a thigh. Pepper jerks away and swallows, her lips falling open, but then comes back to the same position, craving more.</p><p>She does it to the other thigh, watching the pink line materialize under her touch, and Pepper jerks again, panting through her open mouth. Her thighs spread apart slightly and Natasha grows hotter, an answering throb beginning between her own.</p><p>The room fills with the scent of ozone as Natasha moves around Pepper’s body. She turns the dial up and down, varying the intensity as she draws marks down Pepper’s back, over her arms, across her stomach. Natasha begins to trace her name, swooping through the “N” before she catches herself. They hadn’t covered that kind of marking—she turns it into a squiggle instead. When the song changes, she switches to the pin wheel, watching Pepper suck in a surprised breath with delight.</p><p>Natasha drags the wheel up and over a nipple, knowing that it feels razor-sharp. Pepper lets out a ragged moan and Natasha studies her reaction as she does the other, concentrating on the way her muscles shudder and tremble. She can tell Pepper likes it, that it’s a good hurt, but she wonders <em>how</em> good. So, she asks.</p><p>“How’s it feel?”</p><p>Natasha runs the pin wheel down to her underwear and gives her clit a shock. Pepper’s responding groan is deliciously loud.</p><p>“Good, ma’am.” Pepper sounds absolutely wrecked already. “Thank you, ma’am.”</p><p>Well, fuck. That good then.</p><p>“What a sweet thing you are. So polite,” Natasha teases. “Would you like me to touch your cunt some more?”</p><p>Pepper shivers with want. “Yes, please.”</p><p>“How can I refuse such a good girl?”</p><p>And Natasha can’t. How lucky is she right now? A beautiful woman in front of her, so willing to be used and abused. Pepper is probably expecting it to hurt, but it’s no fun to be predictable. Instead, Natasha turns the wand down to the lowest setting and uses her fingers to stroke her gently through the soaked fabric. She swallows Pepper’s moan with her mouth, kissing her, enjoying the buzzy feeling of the contact.</p><p>When Pepper whines into the kiss and tries to move her hips, Natasha breaks it off and steps away, pinching her nipples hard enough to turn it into a yelp.</p><p>“Now, now, none of that.” She focuses on the song for a moment and calculates the time, then turns off the violet wand. “We’re not done yet and you told me you like to save that for last, remember?”</p><p>“Sorry, ma’am,” Pepper apologizes softly.</p><p>Natasha kneels in front of her and peels her underwear down, a sadistic impulse striking her.</p><p>“What was that?” she asks sweetly, closing her mouth around the meat of Pepper’s inner thigh and biting down viciously.</p><p>Pepper squeals, high and reedy. “Sorry, ma’am!” she says again, louder.</p><p>Natasha releases her and strokes her tongue over the bite in apology, laying a kiss to the teeth marks as she pulls away and stands.</p><p>“That’s better.”</p><p>She thinks about taking the body probe out of Pepper’s hand, but her mind moves a few steps ahead to the end of the scene, already planning, and she decides to let Pepper hang on to it. Besides, right now it’s an additional safeword and Natasha never minds having that.</p><p>She takes a moment just to look. Pepper, blindfolded and trusting, standing there covered in scratches that Natasha put all over her beautiful body. She looks gorgeous and Natasha is intoxicated with the thrill of hurting her more.</p><p>“I’m going to beat you up now, sweetheart,” Natasha says. “Doesn’t that sound like fun?”</p><p>Natasha glides her fingers over Pepper’s sensitized skin, waiting for an answer. Pepper sways a bit on her feet.</p><p>“Yes, ma’am,” Pepper finally responds, voice slow.</p><p>Natasha grins to herself. Already going under.</p><p>Pepper leans into her touch with a sigh as Natasha walks her back toward the bed. She turns her and guides her into position, shoulders down and ass up, shifting her arms until they’re tucked up exactly the way that Natasha wants. Natasha picks up one of her favorite leather paddles and runs it over the curve of Pepper’s ass like a promise. Which it is, and it’s a promise Natasha will revel in fulfilling.</p><p>“Remember, if starts to be too much, what do you say?”</p><p>Natasha is hyperaware of the way Pepper’s throat works through a swallow, how her thoughts have likely begun to slow, moving through her mind like syrup. She gives her a moment.</p><p>“Yellow,” Pepper says.</p><p>Natasha kisses her shoulder. “Good girl. And you can drop that thing in your hand too, right?”</p><p>Pepper nods into her arms. Her mouth is mostly hidden, but Natasha can still see the corner of her smile.</p><p>“Let me see you drop it right now just for practice, okay?”</p><p>She waits for Pepper to open her fist and let the contact probe fall to the floor, then picks it up and places it back in Pepper’s hand.</p><p>“Great job, sweet thing. You’re doing so well. I’m going to take you all the way down now. You don’t worry about saying anything else except your safeword, okay sweetheart?”</p><p>Natasha doesn’t let the question hang. She pulls back and brings the paddle down with a satisfying <em>thwack</em>. Pepper lets out a soft moan and relaxes, body going looser.</p><p>The music changes, tempo sliding into something that’s perfect for an ass beating, and Natasha can’t help grinning at herself and her foresight. There’s just something about good planning.</p><p>She launches her assault, raining blows across Pepper’s ass and thighs in time with the beat, falling into a rhythm. Pepper gasps and sighs and moans under the onslaught, pushing and arching back to meet Natasha’s strikes. Natasha loses herself in the flow. Everything narrows to her awareness of Pepper’s body—when it tenses, when it trembles, when it jolts—and the luscious sounds that erupt from her throat.</p><p>She gets Pepper good with a hard, cracking hit and savors her answering sob with sadistic relish. Natasha chases the pain away with the gentle scratch of her fingernails, watching Pepper’s body language carefully as the tension bleeds out, going back to pliant, listening to her breathy moan. She abandons the paddle and grabs Pepper’s ass in both hands. It’s hot to the touch.</p><p>Natasha burns with pleasure.</p><p>She’s intoxicated with it, the power, the rush of having a beautiful woman in her thrall. A primal urge to bite has her sinking her teeth into Pepper’s left cheek just to hear her yelp. Natasha pulls back to study the mark, feeling time move in slow motion as she traces the indent of each incisor with her finger.</p><p>When the music changes again, going softer and slower, she knows it’s time to wind the scene down. She steps back and considers whether Pepper can stand. Natasha decides she can.</p><p>“Stand up, sweetheart.”</p><p>Slowly, Pepper obeys. Natasha gives her enough support to make sure she doesn’t fall and then turns the violet wand back on at its lowest setting.</p><p>“Guess what time it is?” she whispers into Pepper’s ear. Natasha kneels down with a sudden need, mouth already watering.</p><p>When Natasha kisses her thigh, the low buzz of electricity tingling on her lips, Pepper exhales like she’s been punched.</p><p>When her tongue meets Pepper’s wet arousal, she sobs like she’s been wounded.</p><p>Natasha strokes over the base of Pepper’s clit, kissing, tasting, devouring every whimper and tremor that Pepper makes. The low-level charge amplifies everything, so she’s not surprised when Pepper’s knees buckle. Natasha wraps an arm around her legs readily, keeping her standing, keeping her mouth right where it is. The rising urgency crackles in a way that has nothing to do with the electric current between them, Pepper’s legs trembling more and more until Natasha’s holding her up through sheer force of will.</p><p>Pepper comes under Natasha’s tongue with a long moan, but Natasha doesn’t stop. She slides two fingers into Pepper’s hot cunt and curls them, stroking her insides with electric intent. Pepper cries out as she rocks against Natasha’s face and comes again, wetness gushing down Natasha’s wrist. The third time, she screams.</p><p>Satisfied, Natasha reaches behind her to turn off the wand. She lifts Pepper and carries her to the bed. Pepper hits the sheets, boneless and panting. Natasha keeps an eye on her while she quickly tidies up, swapping her toys for some of the things she’d put aside for aftercare, and then joins her on the bed with a comfortable sigh.</p><p>“JARVIS, aftercare protocol, please.”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>The playlist changes, music turning softer as the lights dim. Natasha leans over and covers Pepper with a blanket, rubbing her arms though the soft, fuzzy material.</p><p>“Close your eyes,” she says. Natasha pulls off the blindfold and watches Pepper squint, blinking as the room comes back into focus. “Hi, sweet thing.”</p><p>Pepper smiles. “Hi.”</p><p>“How’re you feeling?”</p><p>Pepper smiles wider. “Amazing.”</p><p>Natasha swells with pride.</p><p>“I’m glad. Want a cuddle?”</p><p>Pepper rolls over without a word and Natasha lays down behind her. She throws a leg over Pepper, stroking her hair, and listens to her sigh in contentment. But Natasha’s body is still humming with desire, the ache persistent and throbbing, and she looks to the vibrator on the bed.</p><p>“Do you mind if I take care of myself?” she asks, reaching for it.</p><p>Pepper turns to face her, a dark look in her eyes that deepens the ache of arousal.</p><p>“Can I help?”</p><p>Well, she’s not turning that offer down. “I’d love your help. Give me your fingers, sweetheart.”</p><p>As soon as Natasha puts the vibrator against her clit, she bites her lip. This won’t take long. She guides Pepper’s fingers inside her and groans when they hit the right spot.</p><p>“Just like that,” Natasha says.</p><p>Pepper stares as Natasha rides her fingers. The pressure builds fast, rushing in like high tide, like storm surge, and Natasha comes with a vision of being pulled out to sea. Pepper continues to hold Natasha’s gaze, heat in her eyes as she removes her fingers and brings them straight to her own mouth, sucking filthily. It feels like she never turned the electricity off, like lightning striking the water. Pepper squeals when Natasha grabs her and holds her down. She makes her come one last time, begging, Natasha’s name forming on her lips again and again like a prayer.</p><p>Finally, Natasha kisses Pepper’s thigh and tosses the vibrator aside. The room is quiet save for the low music and the ragged sound of the two of them catching their breath.</p><p>“Did you have fun?” Natasha asks.</p><p>“I did.” Pepper leans in for a kiss. “Thank you.”</p><p>“My pleasure.”</p><p>Natasha trails her hand down Pepper’s side. “What did you like best?”</p><p>Pepper doesn’t need any time to consider.</p><p>“I loved the wand. It felt great, sharp and scratchy,” Pepper says. “You were right.”</p><p>Natasha smirks. “Feed my ego some more, why don’t you.”</p><p>“Well, when it’s well-deserved...”</p><p>Pepper sits up with a smile, the blanket puddling around her waist. She watches as Pepper studies her own body, tracing the marks that Natasha put there, and feels a fierce pride.</p><p>“I feel like a have sunburn.” Pepper laughs. “My skin feels so tight.”</p><p>“It’ll be gone in 24 hours or so,” she says. “But I hope you remember me tomorrow when you wake up still feeling it.” Natasha winks.</p><p>“Somehow I doubt that’ll be the only time I remember.”</p><p>Pepper reaches out, tucking a strand of hair behind Natasha’s ear with a shy smile. Natasha catches her hand and brings it to her mouth. She runs her teeth lightly over the tips of each of Pepper’s fingers, an expansive feeling in her chest, and then lets Pepper’s hand go with a kiss.</p><p>“I always welcome back repeat customers,” Natasha says, softly. “Now, time for some food. Come on, up! Let’s take a walk.”</p><p>She helps Pepper stand and directs her to the elevator with a hand on her lower back. Pepper leans her head against Natasha’s shoulder as they ride down. She was amazing. Natasha strokes her hair in silence. When the door opens on Tony and Pepper’s shared floor, Pepper lets out a small exhalation of surprise.</p><p>Natasha is impressed too.</p><p>The living room is dim, lit only by hanging twinkle lights and a field of drifting stars that floats across the ceiling. Natasha can see Tony waiting on the couch, charcuterie boards full of fruit and cheese spread out in front of him. His legs are bouncing with nervous energy.</p><p>Pepper breaks away from her and sits down next to Tony, cupping his face with gentle hands and kissing him.</p><p>“Thank you,” she says. “I love it.”</p><p>Tony beams, looking at Pepper like she hung the moon.</p><p>Natasha hesitates for a moment, torn between wanting to join them and wanting to give them space to reconnect. But when they look over at her expectantly, she realizes the first impulse is the right one. She takes a seat on Pepper’s other side.</p><p>“What’s this?” Natasha asks. She picks up a wine glass with a liquid that’s the wrong shade of red to be wine.</p><p>“Gatorade,” Tony says. “I figured you ladies need to replace some fluids.”</p><p>Surprisingly, he manages to say it without a trace of innuendo.</p><p>“Very classy,” Natasha says gratefully, handing a glass to Pepper and then taking one for herself.</p><p>They settle against one another, eating cubes of cheese and chocolate in companionable silence. Eventually, Tony turns on the TV and Natasha leans back. She chews a raspberry and tries to catch the thread of the show—it seems to feature celebrities locked in a house, competing to win money while dressed in ridiculous outfits.</p><p>“I think I’m going to need someone to explain this trash to me,” Natasha says.</p><p>Tony doesn’t need any more prompting. He launches into animated detail, listing his feelings for each of the competitors as they appear on screen, complaining or talking up their individual strategies. Pepper jumps in at one point and they start drawing comparisons to past players and arguing over their merits; Natasha is hopelessly lost, but that doesn’t keep her from enjoying it any less.</p><p>A strange race starts on screen and they take bets on who will win. Natasha chooses to back a tall, muscular sub with a crew cut.</p><p>Tony leans back and puts his hands behind his head.</p><p>“You know, I could win this show,” he says.</p><p>“There’s no way,” Pepper objects, with an exasperated huff. Natasha senses they’ve had this conversation many times.</p><p>She focuses on the TV, listening to Pepper and Tony argue back and forth with a secret smile, and watches the contestants slip and slide over a greased tarp.</p><p>The tall muscular sub wins the competition.</p><p>Pepper wins the argument.</p><p> </p>
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